LAS VEGAS — A tagger vandalized one of the murals adorning the Erotic Heritage Museum (EHM) in Las Vegas last week by spray painting graffiti over a large section of it.
The mural, a recreation of Michaelangelo's "Leda and the Swan," was done by a former student and staffer of the museum.
"We were devastated to find one of our most treasured murals had been so viciously defaced," said museum director Dr. Victoria Hartmann. "None of us here can understand why someone in our neighborhood would ruin such a beautiful piece of art; art that is meant only to improve our community landscape. Destructive acts such as this leave all of us here at the museum so saddened."
The staff of the museum consulted with restoration experts but have been informed the mural cannot be repaired. "We will grieve the loss of this part of the museum and its history," said Hartmann.
Last year, a vandal destroyed the museum's electrical system.
"Fortunately, the perpetrator was caught, arrested, and went to prison," said a rep for the museum. "And unlike the mural, the museum’s electrical system could be fixed."
The EHM spotlights permanent and featured exhibits, across 24,000 square feet, that "champion the wonders of erotic imagination, as depicted through artistic expressions of sex and love."
For more information about the EHM, visit its website and follow it on Twitter.
